Training (1)

(A/N - For inner dialogue I'll be using ' instead of ".)

Ayla stood up on the thick branch and thought, 'Before I train magic and other skills, I should probably become accustomed to my body,' I reasoned. 'It is a natural obstacle course, so using the trees could be effective.'

She attempted to leap to another branch, but with her not used to being in this light, she leaped higher than she intended to, but in the end, she still barely landed on the tree branch.

She reduced the force in the next jump and discovered that it was sufficient for her. After getting a little used to how light her body was, she leaped from branch to branch while adding extra things into it since it would allow her to get used to her body quicker.

~~~

By the time it was noon, Ayla had fully adjusted to her body.

"Cynthia, shouldn't there be a way for me to conceal my aura given I'm supposed to be an assassin?" Ayla queried.

[There is; simply imagine concealing it, and it will do so.] Cynthia replied.

'Why didn't you mention that earlier?'

[Because you didn't apologize.] Cynthia pouted, crossing her arms once again.

'Fine, I'm sorry.'

[I accept your apology, but please refrain from doing it again; you'll make your wife cry.] She said, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

'I know you're faking it.' Ayla shook her head and returned to her training.

Ayla concealed her aura till it could hardly be sensed and used dragon vision to scan the vicinity in search of a worthy opponent.

'Oh nice, I spotted a black bear 500 meters from here.' Ayla leaped through the trees until she was above the black bear.

The black bear swatted its paw at the small stream that was filled with fish, appearing to be fishing for food.

'If I kill it immediately, then it won't amount to much compared to if I spar with it.' Ayla thought. 'But I also need to train my assassination skills, so I'll use bears for sparring and find another animal to train my assassination skills.'

She jumped off the tree branch and landed next to the black bear without making much of a sound, as she didn't want to startle it.

The black bear was furious that she had disturbed its meal and turned around, standing up straight on its hind legs in order to strike fear into her.

"That won't frighten me." Ayla stated, slowly walked up to it without any fear.

Once she was within arm's reach, it swatted its paw at her while brandishing sharp claws. Ayla easily deflected its attack with her hand.

"Is that all you have?"

Ayla kicked it, sending it flying into a tree, breaking the tree in half and the many hundred trees behind it.

'I don't think I'll gain anything from sparring with it,' Ayla thought. 'Therefore, I'll have to fight stronger opponents, but I should be able to train my assassination skills.'

She searched the forest for a second black bear within a 600-foot radius, but was unable to locate one. She turned her attention to other animals and discovered a red fox, deciding the fox would also work as a training partner.

Ayla jumped off the tree branch and moved through the trees until she was above the red fox, where she formed a dragon dagger.

'Killing it swiftly would be ideal for an assassin, but it's not ideal for training in this forest as I'd have to keep looking for another animal to train.'

After leaping off the tree, Ayla isolated the region from reality by creating a dream world.

'I'll be using you as a training partner, so if you want to live, then help me train.' Ayla telepathically spoke to the fox.

The red fox nodded as it understood its own predicament.

'Good.'

Ayla dashed in its direction, then in an instant, she stood next to it, slashing her dagger across its neck, killing it within the time span of a second.

'They are just too weak to either endure the blow or even dodge it, therefore I shouldn't have believed that using assassin skills on them would be effective,' she let out another sigh. 'I suppose practicing my skills alone is more efficient on Earth.'

Ayla left her dream world and looked for a clearing before leaping through the trees and quickly arriving at the location.

'I suppose I'll start with demonic magic.'